What is This Feeling?
by Color With Marker
Summary: When Ienzo first met Myde, he didn't know what it'd lead to. Zemyx. IenzoMyde. IenzoKairi friendship.


"Psst."

"Psst!"

"_Psssssssst!_"

Ienzo glanced up from his novel to see Kairi towering over him. The five-year-old smiled at him. Didn't she have anything better to do than constantly bother him? He had books to read and reports to look over. Besides, there had to be someone else close enough to her age. She had to have something better to do than to pester someone four years her elder.

"Guess what, Ienzo!" she exclaimed. Not being a man of many words, Ienzo shrugged. "I found something! C'mon, I hafta show you!" Kairi pulled Ienzo to his feet. Despite being four years older, he was barely an inch taller than her and was much stronger. Ienzo reluctantly placed his book on the ground and followed the auburn-haired girl. She dragged him through Radiant Garden, the two children dodging people who barely had time to react to them. Ienzo swore he saw Lea and Isa while narrowly missing a fruit stand. None of this stopped Kairi. She dragged him all the way to the beach on the far side of Radiant Garden. They climbed across the large rock peninsula leading into the ocean. Once at the edge, Kairi picked up a green pebble at her feet and dropped it into the water. Ienzo raised an eyebrow. Did she really bring him all this way to watch her throw rocks into the water?

"Wait for it," the five-year-old said, a smile growing on her face. Suddenly, the rock reappeared, shooting out from the ocean and bouncing against Kairi's foot. She gasped and giggled. "He's here!"

The "he" she was referring to was a boy who emerged from the water. He appeared to be around Ienzo's age, give or take a couple of years. He had dirty blonde hair that stuck to his neck and shoulders, and his bangs nearly concealed his eyes. His eyes matched the color of the ocean. His skin had a nice sun-kissed tan. However, below his waist wasn't a pair of legs and feet, but a long teal fish tail. Whoever this creature was hoisted himself onto the rocks and sat before them, smiling warmly.

"I found a mermaid!" Kairi announced gleefully. Ienzo nodded, unsure of what to think about this discovery. He'd heard of beings who weren't entirely human, but to meet one was another story. He regretted leaving behind his lab notebook. How proud Ansem and Even would've been!

"I'm Myde," the mermaid introduced, holding out his hand. Ienzo shook it without uttering a word. Myde raised an eyebrow. "Can you talk?" Ienzo nodded.

"Ienzo doesn't talk much," Kairi intervened. "He's usually real quiet unless he talks about sciency stuff."

"Oh, so is that what you do in Radiant Garden?" Now Ienzo was confused. How did Myde not know what took place in Radiant Garden? Everyone knew of Ansem and his research. Unless...

"What do mermaids do in Atlantica?" Kairi asked Myde.

"Oh, we sing, dance-"

"What is Atlantica?" Ienzo questioned.

"Where I'm from," Myde answered.

"He came from another world!" Kairi exclaimed.

Ienzo didn't buy this for a minute. "That's absurd! Impossible! Blasphemy!" he cried. "There are no such places as 'other worlds' outside of Radiant Garden!"

Myde took a deep breath and explained, "That's what I used to think when I was younger. But my best friend Ariel and I always knew there was something outside of the kingdom. So, when her father had important matters to deal with, we used to swim far out into the ocean and try to find other worlds. One day, we found a huge ship. They were celebrating the birthday of some prince. A _human_ prince. That's when we knew. But, since Ariel and her sisters have to rehearse a number for King Triton, I promised Ariel I'd find some other proof that there are other worlds. Then I found Kairi!"

"Me!" Kairi cheered.

"And then she said that she wanted to show her best friend where this place was, and here we are now," Myde concluded. "Any questions?"

Millions. Ienzo wanted to bring Myde back to Ansem's castle to study and dissect him. Figure out his species and what superior qualities they had over humans. Were they a possible threat? Could they bring peace and harmony? But instead, he held his tongue and shook his head.

"Ooh, I have one!" Kairi stuck her hand up, waving it around. "Are we gonna be friends? Like, all three of us?" Kairi looked between the two boys, a very persuasive pout on her face.

"Of course!" Myde said. "Right, Ienzo?" The slatenette shrugged. The noncommittal gesture translated to a yes, and Kairi threw her arms around Ienzo's neck. Myde hugged the boy's legs and grinned.

"We're always gonna be friends," Kairi said into Ienzo's lab coat.

"Right," Myde agreed. He picked up the pebble. "Just remember, if you wanna get my attention, just drop this in the water, and I'll be here." With that, Myde dropped the green stone and dove back into the water. He vanished almost instantly.

"I've always heard about mermaids, but I never saw one before!" Kairi gushed. She looked up at Ienzo. "Can this be our _secret_ friendship? Just between us? No Lea or Isa to mess it all up?" Kairi held up her pinky. Ienzo stared at the finger, unsure of how to respond. He really didn't expect to see the mermaid again, but why disappoint the five-year-old? He latched his own pinky around hers, satisfying the child's wishes.

* * *

Zexion despised the color white. Everywhere he went in The Castle That Never Was, he saw shiny white _everything_. His room. The halls. The kitchen. The only thing that wasn't white was the eight residing Nobodies of the castle. The black hooded figures weren't much more comforting than the white walls. He wasn't too fond of his fellow members. Sure, Vexen wasn't too bad, and Lexaeus's silence wasn't too unnerving, but the others annoyed him. Zexion just kept his head down and completed the missions assigned to him.

Today, he awoke to Xemnas transporting into his room. "I have a different mission for you today, VI," the Superior said. "I need you to train our newest member, IX. Just to let you know, he's not a very strong fighter, and the others have complained about having to complete most of the work themselves, but I can trust that you won't give me any grief?"

"Of course not, Superior," Zexion answered. He sat up in bed, scratching his shoulder through the fabric of his cloak. "Where am I taking IX?"

"Well, I don't want him to be overwhelmed. Take him to Twilight Town." Zexion nodded as Xemnas left the room. Just as quickly, a new cloaked figure appeared as Zexion pulled his hood over his head. He couldn't see the features of this Nobody, but he had to assume this was IX.

"I hope you're ready, IX," Zexion said. "Twilight Town shouldn't be too bad." The two transported to Twilight Town. Just their luck, they came across a group of Heartless within minutes. Zexion took out his Lexicon, prepared to help IX when he was ready.

"Strike them, IX!" he called out.

IX nodded and held his arm up, suddenly, he was surrounded by a wall of water, from which he extracted a large sitar. IX began playing, chanting, "Dance, water, dance!" Many water clones of IX were formed, all of which began attacking the Heartless. Zexion watched the attack from afar. Xemnas was correct; IX's attack method was considerably weaker than the other Organization members. Weak, yet effective against the Heartless, who didn't have weapons of their own. After a minute, IX had defeated all of them.

"Well done, IX," Zexion said as he tucked away his Lexicon. "You did a better job than I expected."

"Er, thanks?" IX replied. Zexion wrinkled his brow, despite the fact that his hood was covering his face. IX's voice sounded strangely familiar.

"We should continue to walk around Twilight Town, in case there are any more Heartless," he said.

IX sighed. "Do we have to? Can't we go somewhere else?"

"We cannot go against Superior's orders. What he says goes."

"Please? Can we maybe go visit another world quickly."

Zexion sighed. IX was quickly getting on his bad side. "Where would you prefer to be?"

"Atlantica." IX kicked a pebble on the street. "That's where I'm from."

_That voice... that place..._ "If you don't mind my asking, IX, what is you name?"

"Demyx."

_Okay, Demyx without the X... D-E-M-Y. I don't know a Demy, do I?_ Zexion tried figuring out where he knew Demyx from as he led the newest Nobody through Twilight Town.

"Jeez, it's hot out," Demyx said. "Can we rest for a bit?"

"I guess," Zexion agreed. The two went into a nearby alley, well hidden between the two brick walls and behind a dumpster.

"Ah, the shade feels nice." Demyx unzipped his cloak and put down his hood, revealing his messy blonde mane. Zexion gazed deep into Demyx's ocean eyes when suddenly...

"Myde? Is that you?"

Demyx's eyes widened. "How do you know my real name?" he asked. "I haven't been called that since I got here."

"Because I know you." Zexion took off his hood. Demyx studied the Nobody before gasped.

"Ienzo!" he cried. He jumped on Zexion, hugging him tight. "I can't believe it's you!"

"It's Zexion now - and VI to you!" Demyx backed up and looked down at Zexion.

"Wow, man, you're still really short," he said.

"My stature has nothing to do with my strength. And don't talk down to me! I'm a higher-ranking member than you!"

"Sure thing, Zexy." A scream was heard in the distance. Demyx smiled at Zexion before ruffling his slate hair. "We'll catch up later." The blonde ran toward the screaming. Zexion shook his head and followed. He never thought that he'd see the mermaid again.

* * *

Zexion walked down the hallway toward his room when suddenly he was pulled into a different room by one of the other Nobodies. Once the door was shut and the hood was pulled off, Zexion shoved the Nobody against the wall.

"IX, you cannot do that to a superior member!" he cried.

"But Zexy, it's important!" Demyx insisted. "I found out what Marluxia is up to!"

"IX, I have orders from IV to-"

"Marluxia is gonna overthrow the Organization!"

Zexion froze. He must've heard Demyx wrong. "What are you talking about?"

"Axel tried pulling me into their plan. Axel, Marluxia, and Larxene are all going to overthrow the Organization! They plan on killing the higher-ranking members and working their way up to Xemnas, then they'll recreate a new Organization!"

Zexion moved to Demyx's bed and sat down. This was very unsettling news. He thought there was something brewing amongst the lower-ranking members, but this was more diabolical than he'd expected. "Then they must be stopped," he said quietly.

"Zexy?"

"VIII, XI, and XII aren't as much of a threat to us older Organization members. I'll gather IV and V and go to Castle Oblivion. XI is the lord of that castle. It'd only make sense that they would assemble there. From there we can take them down."

"But Zexy, they're plan involves taking down the Keyblade master! And if he's there, you'll be killed, if Axel or Larxene doesn't kill you first!" Demyx cried.

Zexion nodded. "I know. It's a risk I'm willing to take." He summoned a portal. "IX, I need you to find IV and V. Tell them to find me in Castle Oblivion, but don't tell them why. They'll listen, so don't worry about being overly persuasive."

"Will I... will I see you again?" Demyx asked.

The slatenette stared at the floor and took a deep breath. "It's safe to assume no."

"Then I want to give you something before you go."

"Whatever it is, it can wait for - mmph!" Zexion was cut off by Demyx's lips, pressed tightly against his. The slatenette's eyes widened before he shoved Demyx off. "Number IX, what is the meaning of this?!"

"I've wanted to do this for a really long time," Demyx admitted. "I... I think I love you."

"Impossible! You cannot feel. You have no heart."

"Do you buy that story? We do too have hearts! I know because I feel something for you. I always have, and I always will. And if you try telling me otherwise, well, I don't believe you." Demyx summoned his own portal. "See ya, Zexy." The blonde left the room. Zexion stared at the empty void. Was Demyx right? Did they really have hearts? Something in Zexion's chest felt tingly and down-right strange. He shook it off for now and ventured to Castle Oblivion. He had more important manners to attend to.

* * *

No, no, no. Where was it? Ansem's room was a wreck, making it nearly impossible for Ienzo to find the right notes he was looking for. Other than informing Lea about Traverse Town (not to mention being rudely cut off during his explanation), but he couldn't find his notebook from being a child. He secretly had one hidden in Ansem's chambers with notes about Myde in them. As a child, Kairi continued to bring Ienzo to the beach to see Myde. Whenever Ienzo learned something new about the mermaid, he wrote the information down. He had to keep it from Even, in case he was caught and punished. But where was his notebook?

"Ienzo, there's a guest here to see you," Aeleus said as he entered the room.

"Whomever decided to interrupt my work needs to wait. I have very important matters to attend to at the moment," Ienzo babbled. "One of my old lab notebooks has seemed to have gone missing, and it's something I cherish deeply. If you could help me find it, Aeleus, that'd be very helpful..." Ienzo trailed off when he saw who his guest was. "Kairi?"

"Are you sure this is Ienzo?" Kairi asked Aeleus. "He talks way more than I remember."

"No, no, it's still me," Ienzo assured her. "I've chosen to be more verbal as an adult, contrary to my behavior as a young adolescent."

"Uh huh." It was obvious that Kairi had trouble understanding her friend's advanced vocabulary. "Well, I found my way back here thanks to some friends, and I was wondering how you were doing."

"Well, at the moment, I'm having difficult locating my notes about our old mermaid friend from Atlantica."

"Oh, you mean Myde?"

"Yes, precisely! If you could be a dear and help me find it, that'd be wonderful - what are you doing?" Kairi took Ienzo's hand and led him away from the bookshelves.

"Rather than find some notes about him, why not find the real deal?" she asked.

"Well, there are many logical reasons. For example, he could still be a Nobody and - mmph!" Kairi clamped a hand over his mouth.

"You talk way too much," she giggled. She looked up to Aeleus. "I'm gonna borrow him for a bit, if you don't mind."

"Fine by me," Aeleus responded. Kairi thanked him before leading Ienzo out of the castle and toward the beach. The walk there consisted of Ienzo burning through topics and Kairi trying to distract him long enough for the slatenette to keep quiet. Once they arrived at the beach, Kairi had had enough of Ienzo's voice.

"You know, I think I prefer the old Ienzo, who never said more than two words at a time," she said.

"I didn't have much to say as a child as I do now," Ienzo replied.

"I can see that." The two walked across the familiar rocks to the edge, ready to summon their old friend, when they couldn't find their green stone.

"Where is it?" Ienzo asked. "This cannot be..."

"It's fine, Ienzo," Kairi assured.

"How can you remain calm in a situation like this?"

"Because we're gonna find Myde on our own." Kairi unlaced her boots and slid them off.

"What are you doing?"

"Going swimming. Come on!" When Ienzo didn't budge, Kairi groaned and stripped him out of his shoes, socks, lab coat, purple scarf, and vest. She stared at Ienzo, who was now wearing nothing but jeans and a white button-down shirt.

"Kairi, I'm not too sure about this - AH!" Ienzo was pushing into the water by Kairi, who jumped in right behind him. Ienzo stayed immobile for a moment before struggling to kick to the surface. Once he did, he pathetically swam to the nearest rock and held on for dear life. Ienzo knew how to swim, but it wasn't something he practiced very often. Meanwhile, Kairi was treading water about fifty yards away from him.

"Don't be shy!" she called out. "There's nothing to be afraid of!" Once the words left her mouth, the redhead was yanked underwater. When she didn't resurface immediately, Ienzo panicked.

"It's not a shark," he told himself. "It's not possibly a shark. Sharks don't swim this close to shores, especially in these cooler waters." Suddenly, Kairi popped out of the water, right in front of Ienzo, causing him to shriek. When he calmed himself down, he heard two voices laughing instead of one.

"Y-you scream like a g-girl!" Ienzo peered past Kairi to see Myde struggling not to snort. Ienzo scowled at him.

"I do not," he retorted defiantly.

"I told you we'd find him," Kairi said as she hugged Myde. "Look!"

"I'm well aware of his presence, thank you."

"Aw, come give me a hug, Ienzo!" Myde said, holding out his arms. Ienzo's eyes widened and he furiously shook his head. "Why not? Was it because you screamed like a girl?"

"I can't swim, for you information."

"It's not that hard. Just kick your legs and paddle your arms. Like Kairi." Ienzo watched as Kairi swam around Myde with ease before venturing further into open water. "Don't worry, I've got you." Ienzo took a deep breath and kicked off the rock, slowly but surely swimming into Myde's arms.

"Told you," Myde teased.

"You did," Ienzo said. "You were right all along."

"Ienzo, I said that, like, thirty seconds ago."

"No, I mean about hearts. Our nobodies having hearts." Ienzo looked right into Myde's eyes. "When you left to get Vexen and Lexaeus, I felt something in my chest, something I hadn't felt in years. I-I think it was my heart. It might've been..."

"Love?" Myde finished. "Like, you loved me?"

Ienzo blushed. "Perhaps it was."

Myde grinned. "I knew you did." Ienzo frowned but wrapped his arms around Myde's neck before kissing him with a passion he'd never experienced before.


End file.
